Kinu led the tabaxi pair back out of the capitol building so they could pick the rest of their team.

Knetche looked at his mate, Could Dancer. They knew they were chosen more for their speed than strength and would choose their team mates for the same reason. After being mated for 12 years the pair didn’t need words to communicate most of the time.

With a nod they split to gather the other 3 members of their team. Both knowing just who would suit the mission and their personality best.

Melody looked up from her drink when Cloud Dancer entered the bar. She knew her friend and sometimes team mate rarely drank and when she did it wasn’t anything cheap enough to be found in a bar.

“So what’s the mission?” The massive tigerling asked with a toothy grin.

Cloud Dancer chuckled. “We are going to investigate a new dungeon in the Lost Forest of Horamear.”

She downed the last of her drink, rolled her shoulders and stood. “When do we leave?”

“Sunset.” The tabaxi replied all but dancing out of the bar. One down one to go. She knew her dear mate would have Jeor convinced by the time she had rounded up Syth.

Her next stop was the guild training grounds. Syth was almost always there between missions. All she had to do was look for the crowd around the training ground fence… and sure enough he was there.

Cloud Dance admired Syth’s form for only a few moments. The kitsune moved like water. His grace with his dual swords made the complex drills look effortless. Though most of the females watching him were more interested in his lean, toned body than his skill.

Deciding to have a bit of fun she leaped the fence and threw 4 throwing stars at him. By the time she landed she had a roundel dagger in her hand and parried his counter attack.

The 2 exchanged strikes as Cloud Dancer informed him of the mission. She knew Syth didn’t care for Gabolax, there weren't enough monsters for him to fight. He preferred culling missions out in the plains.

Syth stepped back, disenganging. “I’ll be packed and ready by sundown.” With a bow that she knew was more joking than noble he sheathed his blades and jogged into the guild.

Cloud Dancer chuckled as she gathered her thrown weapons and headed home.

Jeor was also no problem to find. He was at his home mixing some kind of foul smelling paste when he called Knetche to enter.

“What in the realms are you making?”

“I hope it will cure blindness.” The lionkin replied. He was thinner than most, as he often forgot to eat while experimenting.

“If the smell gets any worse it will cause blindness.” Knetche replied, but knew better than to open a window. He’s been scolded for that in the past.

Jeor just hummed and kept working.

“Cloud Dancer and I want you to join us to investigate a new dungeon.”

“Are there no other healers available?” The man still hadn’t looked up from his work.

“You are the fastest and if we want to beat the elves there we need speed. I was also under the impression you wanted to have a closer look at Orym’s infamous Lost Forest.”

Gold eyes pinned him in place. This man may be a healer but he had the same predatory stare of most loinkin. “When are you leaving?”

“We are gathering at the guild at sunset and heading out soon after.”

His eyes narrowed. “Fine.” He said turning back to his work in clear dismissal. Knetche knew that underestimating the A ranked healer was dangerous. So with a shake of his head he left to do his own packing.

_____________________________

Iruwhip wasn’t an idiot. Regardless of how most of the guild treated him. Being a half elf and choosing a ranger class had led to many unkind words. Not that he could change his race. He knew getting others to join him would be a chore. If he had more knowledge of this Lost Forest he might have tackled it alone or with only his old friend. As it is though he didn’t trust going in blind without a full party and that would mean a healer and at least one magic user.

First was Bouzaglo. He and the former gladiator had teamed up before. Finding him wasn’t difficult either. Just look for rumors of underground fights and there he’d be. Once the round was over and Bouzaglo was congratulated, Iruwhip waved him closer.

“Found something fun to hunt?” The pinch faced drow asked, more sharp teeth showing than necessary.

“Tiana,” Both rolled their eyes at the elitist elf snob, “Graciously assigned scouting a new dungeon in Horamear to me.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Even more teeth were on display as his grin widened. “Who else you got in mind?”

“I’ll ask Ixamul but we really need a healer. You know anyone?”

Bouzaglo rubbed his chin in thought. “The Aedriel sisters might be interested. They aren’t squeamish about working with non-elves.”

Iruwhip sighed. He hated going into the upper class parts of the city. Too many guards with too many questions. “I’d better go and see them now. Can you ask Ixamul to join us?”

“Sure, once this next round is over I’ll get him and meet at your place.”

With a nod he turned and headed from the slums to one of the richest parts of town.

He’d never spoken to the eccentric sisters but had seen them around the guild hall.

Once he was in the upper class area Iruwhip realized he had no clue where they lived. With a sigh he decided to wonder for a bit and see what luck brought him. There were several people that thought of luck as a useless stat. But it had saved his life many times.

Today seemed to be another day Dianna was smiling on him. Just as he was about to abandon his search, he saw the sisters sitting on a second floor terrace. It was a small narrow house at an oddly shaped intersection but the pair were unmistakable. Their jet hair stood out as most in Lineon had blonde and light brown. The fact that both cut their hair short often sent tongues wagging.

Shaking his head he stepped back and waved to the sisters. “Ladies Aedriel, can I speak to you about an adventure?” He called out.

One of the sisters looked over the railing at him. “Remina will be down.” She replied curiously. The other sister vanished into the house before soon opening the door.

“Come in.” Remina offered. He nodded and she turned to lead him. She stopped in the small kitchen to get another cup for their guest then continued up the stairs.

Once he was seated and a cup of hot tea poured, the other sister spoke.

“What sort of adventure did you have in mind?” She looked curious, but cautious.

“A new dungeon has opened in Horamear. A region called the Lost Forest.” He paused and took a drink. “Tiana assigned me to gather a team and investigate.”

The sisters sat quietly exchanging looks as they sipped their tea.

Finally as the urge to fidget was about to drive him insane Hashira spoke. “I’ve never heard of this forest. We’ll join you.” She smiled at him kindly.

“When do we leave?” Remina asked. Once more pinning him with her eyes.

“We can leave as early as a couple hours from now or in the morning. Whichever suits you 2 best. The north gate would be the best place to meet”

“We’ll be at the north gate in 5 hours.” Remina replied.

Iruwhip left just after. He wasn’t so sure about this pair. They seemed very cold and standoffish to him. But they were a healer and a druid so they balanced the team and had agreed on such short notice. There was nothing for it. With another shake of his head he headed to the lower end markets to buy some supplies before meeting the others at his house in the slums.

_________________________________

Hashash entered one of the meeting rooms at the guild and looked over the group he’d gathered. Cynthia and Marius were arm wrestling. Kevin was scribbling in his ever present notebook. He didn’t need to worry about encoding his work. Between his strange alchemical designs and general chicken scratch the book was nigh impossible to read. Rioux was lounging, plucking a few notes on a guitar. Hashash knew that wasn’t his normal battle instrument but if asked how many instruments the hoarding bard had he would only reply with sly grins.

The last member of the team, Rose, followed him into the room. They didn’t have to wait long for Ludvik to enter and close the door.

“So what’s the job boss man?” Marius, the ludicrously sized were bear, asked. “He was as tight lipped as ever.” He added motioning to Hashash.

“Hashash will be leading the 5 of you to find, inspect and evaluate a new dungeon.”

They looked at each other. New dungeons only opened every decade or so. It had been 16 years since the last one.

“Why isn’t there a healer with us?” Rose questioned. Her sweet looks and soft voice led many to think she was weak or helpless. Her blades, her hot temper, usually cured them of that notion.

Ludvik sighed. “This one opened in the Lost Forest.” Kevin looked up from his book, intelligent blue eyes spearing the guild leader. Cynthia seemed to have heard of it as well but the other 3 looked clueless. “It’s part of Hen’zti’s Coast.” The others nodded knowing the area. All but the noobs had heard of the twin dungeons under that mountain range.

Ludvik unrolled a map of the area and secured it to a board at the back of the room that was there for that purpose. The lack of detail was unusual for a guild map. “Unfortunately Morgon had the only map I could find of the area and it is several years old. Seems no one from the guild has ever mapped this area.”

All the map showed was basically a box. A river to the east and west. Swamp to the south and Hen’zti’s Bay to the north. “There are 6 towns in the area. The 4 here in the swamp are overseen by Ashanna. Orym, a retired guild scout, runs this one and Geon runs Adortin.” Of the swamp villages Aglooe was the only one shown. “The people in this area do their best to make outsiders feel unwelcome. They are likely to charge higher prices and it’s doubtful that talking about building a guild town will improve things.”

“They have lived in isolation for untold generations and 21 different herbologists have died exploring the area due to no one willing to guide them.” Kevin added. He looked even more interested in this mission.

Rose looked at the potioneer. “Once we’re finished with this mission I’ll help you find someone to escort us through the forest.” Her superior charisma and natural charm would help in finding a guide. It was one of the reasons Hashash wanted her on the team.

“Count me in.” Marius added. “Culling whatever killed all those plant lovers sounds fun.”

Ludvik shook his head.

“The reason I chose the 5 of you was due to the high corruption in the area.” Hashash said in his smooth voice. “The few reports we have of the area say the farther you go in the less reliable any mana use. I expect before we arrive at the dungeon no spell could be trusted.”

There was silence as each of the other team members thought about that.

After over a minute of silent Rose spoke up. “Do we know the cause of the corruption?”

Hasash and Ludvik both shook their heads. Before gathering the other adventurers they had worked all morning to find info about the area. They kept running into incomplete records and team losses for anyone sent into the area. Even a group with 2 SS ranked had vanished 19 years ago. No one had been asked to enter the area since. There weren’t even bodies or items from them sent back. All 16 teams that had gone into the region were still considered missing in action. That was why Kevin, an S rank, was the weakest member on this team

“When do we leave?” Rioux asked. This unusual job had piqued his interest. Such a place would no doubt have many stories to tell.

Hashash looked over the group. After looking each in the eye he knew they were all agreeing to go. With a small smile he replied, “We jump to Hen’zti’s Throne in 2 hours.”

“I hate jump gates.” Marius groaned. “Better get some stomach potions.”